Chef Dani's Sea Urchin Pasta

The Spaghetti con i ricci di mare, is a dish with a very simple preparation that smells intensely of the sea and that puts together simple ingredients such as PicNic Table Italy olive oil, garlic, parsley and sea urchins. Preparation can become slightly more complicated if you are dealing with fresh, unshelled sea urchins. Cleaning sea urchins is not a very quick thing and it is not that simple either; it takes time and patience. You need to cut the curl in a circular direction. You can use scissors that you will stick into the operculum at the base of the urchin, and then follow in the cut or the special tool that catches them and cuts them in two. Once opened, you will free the shell from the liquid and spines that have entered inside and you will pull out with a teaspoon only the orange eggs.

1) Fill a pot with water and when the water boils add the salt and start cooking the pasta.

2) In a mixing bowl, pour in some olive oil and a clove of garlic, cut in half and a few chili flakes and a few drops of lemon juice, let it sit on top of the boiling water for a couple of minutes until the garlic flavors the warm oil.

3) As soon as the oil is flavored, add a couple of tablespoons of the pasta cooking water which, because it contains the starch in the pasta, will help form a sauce with a light and creamy consistency. Remove the bowl from the boiling pot.

4) Add the sea urchin pulp and whisk gently to create a zabaione-like cream mixture. Start putting the spaghetti in and toss to coat the pasta. Add a few tablespoons of the starchy cooking water to create an emulsified cream and then divide the dish onto plates.

5) Season with freshly-grounded black pepper, chopped parsley and, of course, a drizzle of The PicNic Table Olive Oil. Enjoy!

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